Chemours has joined the Fortune 500, an annual list of the largest U.S. companies by revenue.

It is the first time the Wilmington-based chemical company joined the list, composed annually by Fortune magazine since 1955. Both publicly traded and private companies are ranked and being included is viewed as a measure of prestige among the global business community.

With more than $5.5 billion in revenue last year, Chemours ranked 482 on the list, released Wednesday morning by Fortune.

Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product with $12 trillion in revenue, $840 billion in profits and $17 trillion in market value. The companies employ a total of 27.9 million people worldwide.

"This is a recognition of success and another bit of evidence that Chemours' plan is succeeding," said Jim Butkiewicz, chair of the University of Delaware's Economics Department.

Chemours, which has about 1,000 workers in the state, is the third Delaware company to join the Fortune 500 list. Its former parent, DuPont, and Navient are also members.

"We're so proud to see our name on this coveted list less than two years after becoming a public company and overcoming some real challenges at our start," said Chemours CEO Mark Vergnano. "This honor was not given; it was earned. It is a testament to the flawless execution by our workforce of our five-point transformation plan."

For Chemours, joining the Fortune 500 is an acknowledgment that its five-point transformation plan has worked. The company struggled to achieve profitability as an independent company since separating from DuPont in July 2015.

Unveiled in 2015, the transformation plan includes cost reductions, shifting investments to more profitable products and overhauling its chemical solutions business.

The transformation plan has armed Chemours with some of its best-selling products, including the environmentally-friendly coolant, Opteon.

Businesses across the globe from supermarket chains to automobile manufacturers have been acquiring Opteon from Chemours. Opteon's success has translated to a 23 percent increase in sales for Chemours' Fluoroproducts unit. When adjusted for nonrecurring and structural costs, the unit's net profit was $155 million, an 82 percent increase over the prior year.

Vergnano has credited the plan as the reason for Chemours' turnaround.

"While its affirming to make the Fortune 500 list, we realize we have to keep working hard to stay on the list, to bring our transformation plan to a successful completion by the end of 2017," he said.

Chemours lost nearly $90 million in 2015 and did not report a profit until the first quarter of 2016. It followed up that success with an $18 million loss in the second quarter of last year.

But the company had a breakthrough in the 2016 third quarter, with a $204 million profit. That translated into earnings per share of 61 cents, more than double the 30 cents per share forecasted by Wall Street analysts. A collection of one-time charges wiped out what could have been a $120 million profit in the fourth quarter as sales continued to rise.

Chemours' success has continued into 2017. In the first quarter, Chemours reported a net profit of $150 million, up from $99 million during the first quarter of 2016. When adjusted for nonrecurring and structural costs, Chemours' profit was $142 million, up $131 million over the same period last year. That represented an increase of over 1,000 percent.

A stunning turnaround in profits was not the only good news for Chemours. Sales reached $1.4 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2016. Chemours' two largest units - Fluoroproducts and Titanium Technologies - both reported sales increases over more than 20 percent over the first quarter of 2016.

The company is so bullish on its future, it raised its earnings expectations for 2017. For the full year, the company predicted its adjusted earnings will range between $1.15 billion and $1.25 billion.

Investors have also become believers in Chemours. A recent report by JPMorgan predicts the company's stock will hit $50 per share this year. In early morning trading, Chemours stock was priced at $39.67 per share.